ITALIAN sledge hockey player Igor Stella has been banned for 18 months after he failed one of the 450 doping tests being carried out on athletes at the Sochi Paralympic Winter Games this week.

Stella returned an adverse analytical finding for “clostebol metabolite 4-chloro-4-androstene-3a-ol-17-one” in an out of competition urine sample on March 4, just three days before the start of the Games.

The 32-year-old with spinal cord injuries was given a reduced sanction after he was able to explain how the substance entered his system and a jury was satisfied it was not to enhance his performance.

According to a statement on the Italian Paralympic Committee website, Stella used a cream called Trefodermin to treat bedsores, but did not declare it in accordance with anti-doping rules.

Earlier this week he was suspended by his team pending an investigation by the IPC’s Anti-Doping Committee, which operates under its own code but is compliant with the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The committee is responsible for implementing anti-doping measures at summer and winter Paralympic Games as well as for individual sports such as powerlifting, alpine and nordic skiing during their normal season.

Australian anti-doping expert Nicki Vance, who has been on the committee since 2006, refused to comment on the circumstances surrounding Stella and the Italian team.

But she confirmed that between 450 and 600 drug tests would be done at the Sochi Games.

“If you look at the nature of the competition and athletes that are involved at the Winter Paralympics, it is elite sport,” Vance said.

“But we have both sides of the situation where you’ve got some athletes who may be seeking to cheat or (those who) are not provided with enough anti-doping education or don’t make themselves knowledgeable.

“But the athletes are ultimately responsible, they know they’re coming to a Games where they can be tested. Many athletes have also been tested by their respective national anti-doping organisations in the lead up to the games.”

Drug tests are carried out on medallists and randomly but not every medallist in Sochi this week will be tested.

The IPC anti-doping committee has instructed that nordic skiers be tested the most.

“We have distributed more tests to nordic (skiing) because we assess relative risk factors such as in the able-bodied winter games, there were positives in the lead up to the games,” Vance said.

“Primarily in the nordic biathlon and cross country because these are endurance events — we are focused on many substances including EPO and other blood products.

“We don’t test every medallist like the Olympics, it’s a resource issue, but it also becomes totally predictable.

“Maybe it would be great to have more tests but it is more about using what is a reasonable amount and using them well.”

The Sochi organising committee’s anti-doping staff collects blood and urine samples from athletes which are taken to a WADA-accredited laboratory in the city of Sochi for analysis.

The IPC’s anti-doping committee is then advised if there is an adverse analytical finding to be investigated.

Only one athlete from the Vancouver Games in 2010 tested positive to a banned substance, which was in wheelchair curling.

Testing statistics indicate doping cases are not prevalent at Winter Paralympics and Vance said some cases were due to inadvertent medication breaches because of a lack of education and awareness.

It is why the committee fully supports WADA’s ‘outreach’ program within the athletes’ village to deliver education and increase awareness among athletes and officials.

In announcing Stella’s sanction last night, the IPC issued a statement saying each athlete was “strictly liable” for substances found in their urine sample.

“And that an anti-doping rule violation occurs whenever a prohibited substance (or its metabolites or markers) is found in his or her bodily specimen, whether or not the athlete intentionally or unintentionally used a prohibited substance or was negligent or otherwise at fault,” the statement said.